Another quick update. A Bumblebee pic is underway and it's looking great. Crossing fingers it's out before Valentine's day. But anther big thanks to everyone who reads, follows and favs. It's been two years since it began and it's been a journey to say the least. If I could give out awards to those who've been there since the beginning, I would. Anyways, let's wrap up and get warm with Bumblebee.
Blake: Natural Selection
The girls retired to Ruby's room, her desktop the main hub for consolidating all of the information at hand and finding the place where The White Fang would be. The Faunus took a seat at the leader's bed, hating herself for being so drunk that night to help figure this out. Ruby wouldn't be frantically typing at the keyboard, straining her eyes out to match details with the images on her scroll. Neither would Yang be getting the harshest of tongue lashings from the heiress.
"You are the biggest dunce in the world!" Weiss scolded, chipping through her teeth each syllable to vent her anger whilst hitting Yang with Ruby's throw pillow. The blonde could only take so much deserved abuse, catching the pillow on the downswing, standing up and towering over the ice princess. The girls' eyes locked, neither backing down, a fire ignited with the air so combustible.
"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" Yang shouted back. "We were drunk and happened to come across such a place! I'm not saying to forgive my lack of details after a few bevs, but some gratitude I expect from getting us something to go off of."
The heiress yanked the scroll form Ruby's desktop, expanding the screen to display, in humorously-large font, Yang's notes she took while drunk. "If you could write better than a chicken pecking its way through a keyboard, Ruby wouldn't be busting her neck trying to find this place."
"I need that back, by the way," the meeker sister carefully retrieving the scroll back lest the ice princess' anger be redirected towards her.
"The most legible thing I could find in that mess of scribbles is a sketch of what I assume to be Blake's butt with a title underneath that says 'yummy'," Weiss fired back.
"There's more than that and you know it. Also, I don't want to hear it after you two withheld that tiny, possibly most graphic detail of this which is the weapons. When were you going to let family in and tell me Signal was robbed, Ruby?" Yang shot past Weiss to the hunched over leader, gray eyes growing big from the guilt.
"Don't you be bugging her," Weiss stepping in front of the heat Yang was throwing. "When we stumbled upon the robbery, we asked your dad what we should do. I brought up the idea that no one outside the room should know about it because it could make his new appearance as headmaster look weak. He made the final decision and asked if we could work on it in secret. If we had your information sooner, we probably have all of this wrapped up and have staked a claim outside the rally."
"Oh, so we're back to this again. I told you our reasons..." Yang continued, the Faunus drowning out the voice as effectively as she does with a book in her hands. She was tired of this petty fighting, but she was angry at herself too. A lot of what both of them were debating were valid and she was equally as culpable as any of them. It's not what bothered her the most, though. Her liquored up state may have cost her a chance to meet Adam, seconds feeling like hours as she was praying for Ruby to jump up out of her chair and have an answer. She felt her stomach knot up, the stuffy atmosphere of the room not making it easier to calm herself, the Faunus stepping out to the kitchen for a drink.
The alcohol in the cabinets was tempting, Blake winding tighter at the thought of meeting Adam again, but controlled herself enough to slug down a couple glasses of water. After a few cooler breathes from the open room, she was able to have a conversation with herself. "This could be it. This could be the night that I finally get him back for what he did to me. I almost want to control this rage, but it feels good to be this alive again, even if it's running borderline homicidal. I'll consider it a win if I'm able to get him into cuffs, but I shouldn't be prioritizing him if Roman and a couple others are present. I wouldn't be completely satisfied if Roman was still running about, but he is an illusive one. Is it wrong for me to just focus our efforts on him? The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one and my 'one' is me selfishly burying something from my past."
Blake sat at the island, mulling around the questions until she felt a tap on her shoulder. The Faunus jumped out of her thoughts to see Yang, wearing a more warmhearted expression than the fire-spitting one she recalled. She didn't become aware the shouting had stopped as she was so lost in thought, the blonde quick to inquire about the Faunus' reclusiveness. "Hey, you feeling alright?"
"Better, but sort of having a moral issue if certain people are attending the rally," Blake confided.
"Lay it on me."
"Judging from what it could be, Roman and some higher ups will be there. We could change everything today if I don't focus all my energy on Adam. I want this to be the day I get my retribution for everything he put me through, but I feel guilty if I put forth my emotions for the better of Faunus-kind," Blake explained, it sounding less complex now that it was said, but no where near to picking an answer.
"Fight him," the blonde said, no hesitation in her response.
"Are you sure? Is everyone else fine with me being selfish on the mission?"
"I can't speak for the rest of them, but you have my blessing to find Adam and pummel him into the concrete." Yang repeatedly demonstrated by pounding her fist into her palm. "We'll handle the leftovers. We're a team, a barely functional one at the moment, but we're a team. Weiss understands revenge and I'm sure Ruby will let you do as you please since she's seen the gambit of emotions you've been hurdling through since your birthday. I see the vigor burning through you, Blake, and I don't want you second-guessing yourself this close to the finish line. Be selfish. Take down Adam."
The weights that were sinking her heart to her gut were unshackled at Yang's unbreakable position on the matter, the knot in her stomach getting some relief. She wanted to ask again, to make sure, but the determined stare in the lilac eyes conveyed more than hearing the answer for her own pleasure. "Thanks Yang. I was at a crossroads that I may have taken the wrong path on if you weren't here."
"You are very most welcome," the blonde replied, placing her hands securely around Blake's shoulders. "Now, I want to hear it from you. What are you going to do tonight?"
With new vindication in her, it took no effort to say, "I will fight Adam. I will not hesitate to use lethal force. I will not try at persuade him over. Those days are done. He's had his chances and I'm not giving him another one. You don't have to watch my back this time. I will win."
"That's what I like to hear. Still, I am your partner. I probably should keep an eye on you for responsibility sake," Yang pressing in and giving Blake a heavy kiss. With the voltaic energy coursing through her, it was hard to restrain her urges and put the squeeze on certain parts of the blonde's body, hands keeping it around her waist, pulling her in for a tighter embrace. From tempered breathing, Blake could tell Yang was also doing her best to not carry the Faunus back to her bed.
Her girlfriend pressed their foreheads together, black and yellow bangs meshing as Yang brought down the intensity of speaking her conviction. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this day. When I first saw him, I didn't know what to make of him. And though I've never had a conversation with him, I've been wanting to get at him after what he did to you. It surprises me how much volatile hate I could convoke from a person that I have had no connection with, and that scared me. Not because I was afraid I'd go berserk and kill him, but afraid that I'd pull you along with it."
"How do you mean?" Blake hushly asked.
"This is not something I should've rushed you through and I was guilty on a couple accounts for doing that very thing. Whether those times were a fluke aren't my decision to weigh in on. Seeing you now, this vibrant and driven, puts a lot of me at ease. And that's saying something considering we're about to run head first into a White Fang base."
Blake smirked more than the average person, enjoying the humor only a huntress could understand as Yang laid it out. "Yeah... I appreciate it. I'm glad you're the one that's been telling me to slow down. Anyone else wouldn't have been strong enough to keep me from fleeing this like every other problem."
"You know my past, Blake. I'm not one to abandon... Besides, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't keep to that promise I made to you when we got together," the blonde said, nuzzling herself with their hair.
"Aside from the obvious answer, I would be a woman scorn and I assure you my scorning would be like wrath you've never seen," the Faunus threatened, levity in her tone as she joked with an impossibility in her heart.
"I'd say that's more incentive to never upset you, but I don't need anymore motivation to be with you and make you happy... and infuriate you when my cheekiness flares." Yang demonstrated her gall by cupping the Faunus' face tight, digging her thumbs into her dimples, rising out cheerful chuckles.
As the couple reveled in their faithful fervor, a hard cough came from the hallway. Ruby's face had a seasoned flush easily seen behind the gossamer static of Yang's scroll with the heiress stood arms crossed, polite enough to have her head turned to give the couple some privacy. "I think we have the where and when," the leader sheepishly spoke up, turning the screen to a place that looked too familiar to the couple.
"Alright then. Girls, let's get going," Yang authoritatively rallied, releasing her from a loving embrace, Blake impressed as everyone's attitude quickly switched to prepare for the battle. Everyone brought out their scrolls, typing in the code for their lockers in their apps, awaiting for the blue flame on the horizon.
"I didn't think this anniversary would turn out like this?" Weiss pouted, Ruby sulking with her.
"Well, at least we can't say this wasn't lively. Talk about something we couldn't plan even if we tried. There is a silver lining for me at least. I really wanted to incorporate Crescent Rose and Myrtenaster for a friendly sparing match with each other's weapons," the leader added, Weiss' frown half-turning upside down as her mouth curved to a smile, her frown still bound to her brow. Blake couldn't blame her, the dismal feeling of calling the lockers hovering like a rain cloud over them.
Clouds carpeted the sky, the evening chill fighting against her aura as the temperatures were dipping. Blake hugged herself, about to rub her hands up and down her arms to generate heat before Yang stepped over, her golden aura pulsing warmth through her body. "Thanks."
"I'm quick to that button, especially on Patch. Islands are lovely during the day, but the chilly temperatures during winter and that ocean current people forget. Ruby would..." The blonde's explanation cut off as her sister got underneath her other arm. "...would sneak into bed with me on especially cold nights."
Blake was happy to see the team mending itself, although she knew a screaming match in her household had to be something Ruby heard before. Taken by surprise was the heiress' reaction, taking a place next to her girlfriend, also bathing in the sweet glow. The team rubbernecked and gawked at the unexpected action, Weiss feeling the eager stares, giving in and responding. "I didn't want to be left out. We're a team."
Yang reached over a little further, the ice princess not out of reach before the blonde was able to wrangle her in, bringing the entire team in her arm orbit. "Yeah... go Team RWBY."
"Could you actually let me go? You're overheating me. I don't get cold with such moderate temperatures."
The rest of the them laughed at the jovial gripe from Weiss. Blake shared the same rejoicing feeling that the fight didn't hold any grudges. "I hope you haven't been sending Dad any of the information we know just yet. You know how he gets when we mention our battle achievements," Yang told Ruby, whose thumbs were working overtime as she was typing it out.
"I'm not. The last thing we need is meeting him there and getting a ten minute lecture of letting the adults handle it and how this mission is way too over our heads for second years. I'm prepping it because once we get there, I doubt I'll have type to even type 'help' if we need it," Ruby reassured.
The humming of the jets beneath the lockers was heard as they were entering the island premises, the heavy, metal objects colliding into the yard in front of them, the Xiao Long sisters letting out a massive groan as the lawn had been uprooted by crash landings. "I really wish they figured a parachute to it. Dad will get super mad when he comes home to this," the leader mentioned.
"I agree," the ice princess further commented. "I had to buy a special casing for my dust. The first time I called it, it jarred my vials enough to crack one, it shattering in my hands. I wouldn't want to imagine the series of explosions once the dusts fused."
"It's an emergency setting," Blake continued. "How many times have we been sweating, looking towards the sky after we called it, and that sweet relief once it crashed? I'll be beyond mad if I had to wait for it gently float down when I can feel a Beowolf's breath on my neck."
"Good point," Yang added to the reply. "Lesser of two evils I suppose." Team RWBY saddled up for the infiltration, taking everything they usually take for battles minus sleeping bags. Blake popped open Gambol Shroud, everything oiled up and sharp, almost as if the weapon was also waiting for this day. With everything neatly tucked away, the heiress called in her most personal of servants for an airship immediately. The girls traveled to a very secluded part of the beach, the local girls finding it big enough for a ship to land and have them take off with ease.
The airship dropped them at the top of one of the Schnee's skyscrapers, the team finding the drop-off a good place to start their hunt as the sun was setting. Ruby followed the directions of her scroll to the familiar warehouse the couple discovered a few nights ago. Blake and Yang directed the other two to the watcher's nest they made that night, not that they needed a high vantage point. There were more suspicious trucks and foot traffic around the base than Beacon during prom. Crates were loaded onto the trucks, Blake simmering off her anger. As much as her eyes were darting back and forth for the spiky-red tips, she also knew fighting with as much rage inside her will cause a misstep, and possibly defeat.
As soon at the trucks were loaded, it was a nice leisure stalking to the destination, the rest of the team having to take tips from a professional as subtlety was none of their fortes. After a hop, skip, and a jump away, they were in the heart of the industrial district. When the building came upon the couple, their mouths formed little o's, the drunken haze much clearer as the warehouse they came upon was the one they saw at the beginning of the semester.
"More responsible drinking in the future," the blonde suggested.
"Agreed," the Faunus reflexively responded as she scanned the roof. "We'll wait here for the time being. Make sure that those four patrolling the corners are the only ones that will show up."
The team sat tight, the lofting moon absent as clouds dotted the horizon. Blake was hyper-focused, but wasn't neglectful of her changing surroundings. A chill hit her as the first snowflake hit the tip of her nose, a light snowfall cascading the city as the minutes passed. She watched as the Faunus came seemingly out of the woodwork. Shady characters walked in, no doubt getting passed out that Grimm mask calling card before they enter lest the police find them. Blake was no authority, not wanting to handcuff and put away a lot of lost brethren. She called it sooner than she wanted to limit any casualties, having the team take out the guards with a few simple maneuvers.
She hovered over the sky light, the Faunus bearing her teeth as she saw that the master of ceremonies was already entertaining the masses. "Welcome. Welcome all of you who have the nerve, the rancor, or the chutzpah, if you will, to stand here today in solidarity."
The Faunus crowd erupted, Blake wondering if she was that susceptible when the organization was shifting, eating up whatever the man in the bowler hat was spewing. "All of you are here because you demand change. And you've been shouting for change for a long time and everyone has ignored you, except us. The White Fang has been continuously trying to get the rights Faunus deserve. Integration within the city, fair wages, equal opportunity for employment. All of these sound like dreams that some of the Faunus forgot. But you, here today, you believe that that day is coming. I'm here to tell you, it's today. Today is the day we've been waiting for!"
The crowd hailed the charlatan, Faunus reveling in the lies and false promises. "Today, you are now members of The White Fang. Your membership fee is your loyalty and you first mission is we take march on the people who continue to put you down. The ones who abuse your second-right citizenship to its extent to the point of slavery and profit exponentially from your blood-soaked labor." Roman continuously stirred the pot as he unwrapped the sheet on a box next to him. A couple of White Fang personnel came out with crowbars, unhinging the crate to reveal the weapon prototypes from Signal.
"These are weapons that utilize dust at its most potent state and amplifies the devastation ten fold. These very same weapons are the ones you will wield as we march across town and take down the Schnee Dust Company Headquarters!" Roman shouted, a haughty breath of air escaped Weiss, an inferno stoked as she marked Roman with a death stare.
With the assembly of hooligans drooling at the idea of rioting, some probably more interested in the looting in the aftermath of chaos, they eagerly lined up to grab their guns. The White Fang staff were getting ready, all of them setting up, even the higher-ups. As soon as his red hair came into view, Blake couldn't wait any longer. She looked over to the rest of the team, all giving their approval. Yang was the first to jump in, the rest following as the descended on the gathering.
"Sorry to break up this bash, but this blowout sale for anarchy ends now." Yang taking aim to the smaller multi-colored assistant of Roman. "Ruby, Weiss, get rid of the weapons."
Blake didn't need an order from Yang, the Faunus already in pursuit of an unarmed Adam. The hallways were winding, not giving the Faunus many clean shots of the man as his quickness served him well. Lockers and boxes were thrown to the ground, giving her more obstacles to angle around, but was caught off guard by an explosion of blue dust. She lost her footing as the linoleum slickened with an icy coat, Blake digging her weapon into the ground to stop her from plunging herself at the end of an icicle. The heavy mist irritated her lungs, her vision impaired as she lost Adam. Her element of surprise was wasted, he now having the upper hand. She tread lightly, Gambol Shroud extended and kept close to her chest.
The crashing and explosions from the fighting behind her covered the footsteps rushing to the side of her, Blake too slow to react as boots slammed into her sides, her body flying through a window into the bay area. The Faunus picked herself up, brushing the trill of blood off of her cheek and waiting for her opponent to show himself. Gunfire flashed first, Blake dancing around the bullets. A black figure rushed her, the woman blocking and holding her ground as she met his stare behind the mask.
"I knew there was an uneasy feeling about tonight," he gritted though his teeth. "We can't keep meeting like this. At some point, it will be legal to take action for stalking."
"I won't need to stalk you once I put you away. I'll always know where you are if you're sitting in solitary."
Blake mustered all her strength to overtake his blade, her efforts equally matched as Adam wasn't holding back either. She couldn't see past the mask, but the stance in his attacks said more than a furrowed brow and a killer's stare. She didn't want this to end in a bloody mess, but reading Adam's body made her believe that he wasn't on the same page.
"Isn't this the part where you beg for me to leave or scream some line about how I'm wrong," he condescendingly talked down to her.
"Probably, but you're no different from those lackeys in black. All you have is a better weapon and Roman pats you on the head for being a good boy for doing your job," she snarled.
"Like eliminating huntresses who are barging in outnumbered and outclassed in a White Fang base."
"Sure. Just like I'm here to stop anarchists from unleashing a rioting spree across the city for personal gain," Blake quipped back. "We're past the point of discussion. I'll take your advice for once and save my breath."
"Good. Then maybe you can channel that energy and beat me this time."
"Be careful what you wish for," Blake definitely declared as Gambol Shroud's blade retracted, her sheath protecting her as she fired from the hip and into his thigh. The bullet dug deep into the tissue, her ex dumbfounded as his own tactics was used against him. Other than the blow to his ego, he seemed to shrug off the wound, winding his stance with Wilt. Blake followed and waited for him to make the first mistake.
Adam blitzed his attack, Blake's blades colliding with his as the fight raged on, sparks flying with each clash of the metal. The Faunus noticed the lack of offense from his hilt, Blake taking advantage and keeping her distance. She fired a few more rounds at him, the man not deterred as the noticeabe pang from a deflected projectile was directed away. One of the stray bullets was flung to a crate being suspended by a crane, the Faunus loosening her ribbons and fastening them to a sickled Gambol Shroud.
After shoving him away from another parry, she flung her weapon to the apex of the chains, ripping them from their buckles. She knew Adam wouldn't be fooled by a box slowly descending to the ground, but gave her an opportunity to change out her magazine, replacing it with special dust ammo from the ice princess. It was risky, but she knew Adam without a weapon was an easier Adam to fight, she had to make it look convincing.
She laxed her skill, playing the defensive to gain a bit more battle damage. Blake having this kind of upper-hand was new to her, now Adam the predictable one as she was letting slight damage to her wears come with ease. The blade wasn't any less sharp or excruciating to endure, but it was worth it for her plan. After a quick riposte, she fell to one knee. Part of her acting, but the other part also hating his cockiness as Wilt took a sharp hit to her shin. Adam whipped his blade, cleaning the steel from the line of Blake's blood that stained the tip. Her ex stood confident, just where she wanted him.
Adam continued his assault, Blake not blinking as she felt the steel hit her hair on the downswing. She pulled the trigger, herself now on the opposite side of the man and his weapon, now embedded in the icy shoulder of her semblance copy. A couple tugs was all she had time for to free his weapon before resorting to his fists, his right arm falling to the same trick from his desperate tactics. Blake's semblance appeared in front of him, pointing Gambol Shroud to his feet, firing a couple of ice shackles to pin him to the ground. A quick transforming brought it back to its sickle form, Blake aiming for his knee, rending his leg useless with a hard flick with her ribbons.
Adam split her Faunus ears as his ligament was shredded, the man mostly held up by the ice copies as his leg went limp. Blake knew he wasn't going anywhere, but even a part of her didn't want to let him out of her sights for a second for fear he escape. The blasts behind her was a calling card that her team might need her, and with Adam writhing in pain, blood soaking the ground around him, she felt it felicitous to depart. Cries of agony and pathetic begging could be heard down the halls as she headed to the others.
*-Yang-*
Yang wasn't on a revenge mission for anyone in particular, everyone in The White Fang a target for the crimes they commit. It didn't matter if it was the chainsaw-wielding psychopath that Weiss chose, nor the woman in the black suit and masquerade mask that Ruby was sparing with. Roman was a leftover after the initial engagement settled down, her eyes meeting his when the dust settled. The blonde didn't hesitate, rushing the cocky bastard as he stood with his arms crossed, smirking as if he already knew the battle was decided. When Ember Celica discharged a shell, the glass shattered, the apparition crashing around her. Yang's levelheadedness of battle melted away as a fury was ignited within her, the little pink-and-brown haired woman wearing the same smirk as her fake Roman behind it all.
The blonde was never going to admit to anyone her secret rivalry with the mute woman, but landing a punch on her was near impossible. She would have hoped that more training would have made her faster and help her connect more often, but it might as well be a well-choreographed dance at a ballot. Neo was always half a second quicker. The more she felt like she was being toyed with, the woman ignoring most of her room to counter, had the rage seething to the surface. "Why can't I hit you!?"
Neo curled her index, beckoning her to come fight her more, popping her parasol as she whimsically trotted around the blonde. Yang was not to be made a fool anymore, charging the woman with all that she had. Ember Celica's blasts weren't connecting, Neo using the parasol to keep her just out of close-quarter combat. The only times she'd let the brawler in was to use the hooked end to trip her up and toss her into a crate. Either she was getting tired, or Roman's evac was here, Neo hooking Yang's neck to pull her in for a punch to the throat. She felt the guttural urge to puke, dry heaving as the air was knocked out of her. She stumbled, still keeping to her feet with arms outstretched to keep her balance. Hunched over, she was eye level with Neo, her smirk growing wider as she unsheathed the blade hidden in the umbrella.
Many quick flashes flared around her, the dizzying display of Blake's semblance activating around Neo. The blonde reveled in the irony that the mute girl couldn't scream for help, but her eyes said more than any call for arms. Blake appeared next to her, Yang not happy with the blood and dirt coating her face, but wounded was better than dead. The Faunus nodded, giving a hard tug on her ribbons as the blonde unleashed a flurry of fists into Neo. Some blows were harder than most, the loosening ribbons giving her room to stumble away only for Blake to play with her prey and Yang strike again.
The ribbons snapped with a strong finisher, Yang satisfied with her payback, but she needed to be behind bars. The blonde stomped over to Neo, the first time seeing fear in her eyes made her hungrier for the kill. Steps before making her eat concrete, white enveloped her vision, a hard slap and a kick to her side sent her back into more crates. When her eyes opened, Blake was by her side, picking her up as fast as she could as Roman was doing the same. "Are you alright? Take to the roof. Notify me when you see the ship," the man giving a belittling pat to the multi-colored head before she sped off.
"Blake, follow her. I'll take him this time."
"Are you sure? In the shape we're in, both of us could take him on and lose, but at least we'd have a chance."
"Yes... I want him. Going to make him know he shouldn't mess with Xiao Longs." Yang spitting out blood as she took a spot before him, the Faunus giving chase to Neo as told. She could only make contact with his one uncovered eye, but his pompous gaze darting back only made her more furious that he's assembled enough talented mercenaries to have him sit back and watch since the brawling broke out.
Yang heard the whirling sound of a gun readying to discharge, her stare distracted as she saw one of the Faunus from the rally aiming the gun at her. Before the flash of the blast, a familiar sickle and ribbon hooked around the gun, the man almost yanked with it as Blake was watching over her in a blown out skylight.
"Your father was developing some interesting weapons over there at Signal," Roman arrogantly said, clearly too proud of his acquisition.
"Why my dad? Why the Schnees? Well, I kind of get the Schnees," the blonde admitted.
"It's nothing against you personally." Roman pointed his cane at her, Yang dodging his cannon blasts and closing to gap so that wouldn't happen again. "Word on the street was Signal is developing something revolutionary. These guns were a catalyst to something bigger that I'll have my team work on. As for the Schnee Dust Company, it was more than just a major procurement of dust and weapons with little to no effort on The White Fang's part. Rival dust companies want their stocks to balance out and promised money to the highest bidder that will take the responsibility of dethroning the Schnee king."
"Glad to see that all of this time scheming wasn't to cause a riot and destroy one of the kingdoms of Remnant. You're not such a bad guy after all," Yang chipped through her teeth, throwing punches, strewing empty shells along the ground. Neo's attacks all seemed to hit the right pockets, Roman clearly training her as he lashed his cane behind both of her knees. She fell again, Roman clotheslining her and tossing her body like a food wrapper onto the podium. Tired of losing her breath every time she seemed to get hit, she kept her hands on the defensive, Roman not letting up.
"Oh, I am. You huntsmen and huntresses have been pretty vigilant nowadays, plugging a lot of my income flows. Revolutions cost money and there's a lot of it in corporate espionage."
"This isn't a revolution. You're taking advantage of innocent Faunus." Yang feeling the rage seethe into her eyes with each hit dealt to her. "You stand behind this noble cause for whatever you seek to gain from toppling the kingdoms. The Faunus are a respectable race and you continue to be the wolf pulling the wool over these people whom desperately want an answer. You're leading them to slaughter by arming them."
"Please, little girl. You don't understand the half of it." Roman slid in-and-out of Ember Celica's bursts, the man directing Yang's fists with persuasive parrying from his cane. A swift movement had the hook under her weapon, dragging her to the ground only to be met first by his knee. Lightheaded from the blow, she centered herself, her eyes growing redder as the fire rose.
"Maybe I don't need to understand all of it, but from what I can comprehend is that ever since The White Fang became more aggressive, you've only made the tension worse. What half I don't understand, feel free to educate me," she roared as the added fiery fury backed Roman into a wall. His aura wasn't strong enough to not be effected by two hits to the torso, the cement wall and cane holding him up more than his legs. Yang was done playing around, the blonde furious as she narrowly missed the man and left a head-sized hole when punched at his scared face. He was a step ahead, firing at a crate above them to escape the fire.
Yang was happy to see bruises on him, but discouraged as his mouth was still able to move. "But stopping me is part of my plan too."
The blonde's heart skipped, hoping the tinnitus made her hear wrong. "What are you talking about?"
"You didn't think I wouldn't anticipate you meddling kids. You love to show up when you're not wanted, so I made it easier this time to make sure you would. Raiding the Schnee Dust Company was supposed to happen on a beautiful happenstance that everything goes according to plan, so I made sure to stick to plan B this time."
Yang was brought back to the many tags across the city that Blake pointed out, her knowledge of former White Fang practices inclining them to an event coming up. A loathsome feeling hit her, the one she shudders at when she realized she willingly walked into a trap, Roman's earlier comment of rushing into things stinking more as his bruise and dust ridden face held a growing smirk. "What were you going to do with us?"
"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan." Roman quick-drew his cane. Yang a split second away from being extinguished, her natural reaction to block her face saving her, Ember Celica taking most of the damage with some spillover of intense heat on her knuckles. Before she had time to react, Roman slide kicked her, whipping his cane around her waist and tossing her into a support beam. "Look around you. What do you see?"
Yang only listened because getting herself off the ground proved harder with such a hit to the back of the head. There were Faunus from the rally, either fighting with the weapons or terrified, hiding as best they could, peeking out of cover to see if they could flee unscathed as the battle's collateral destruction could have put any one of them in hospital. "The look on your face means you get it. They see huntresses fighting against them, fighting to keep them in their place. I look like a martyr."
Her fists were breaking blood vessels in her hands as she saw what was unfurling. The damage was already done, but he wasn't going to have the smug satisfaction of getting away with it that easy. She joined him back on the stand, her anger fueling the blows as Roman couldn't keep up when her semblance at full heat. A solid hit to the face staggered him, his hair flipping revealing another eye that will gracefully conceal a newly-forming black eye. Yang wanted him to hurt. If she was going to be the villain, she was going to shed her hero persona and punish him before a trial.
As she was rushing him for another flurry of fists, a black figure caught her peripheral. Her girlfriend was bested by the annoying, short menace and was pushed out of the skylight. The hero armor wasn't cast off yet, the blonde's semblance dying down, rushing past Roman, arms extended to catch Blake. What she thought was random flailing, was the Faunus adjusting herself midair, Blake landing gracefully in her boots. She watched as she dusted herself off and readjust her bow, the flickering cat ears having Yang groan at her foolish heart.
"You land on your feet every time, don't you?"
"Yeah. Pretty much."
The blonde turned around to see the reviled man getting lifted by a ladder leaving their field of vision. Blake transformed Gambol Shroud to its gun form, firing the last of her ammo at him, some pleasure being had as he slid down a rung as his foot was surrounded by an ice block. "I hate myself."
"Don't," Blake taking her thumb, giving it a liberal lick, and smudging off caked on dust powder. "I appreciate the effort and I don't just mean you trying to catch me."
Yang's smile grew big as it hit her. "So, I take it that Adam is subdued somewhere."
"Yes. I could hear him howling in pain as I was fighting Neo. Even if he were to escape my trap, there's enough blood on the floor that he wouldn't get too far without passing out. We best go collect him. I do feel bad for taking that extreme measure to keep him in one spot."
The blonde nodded, turning away to follow Blake only to be stopped and turned around by her. She took notice to the crowd, at least what could be considered a crowd with the handful of Faunus that were lingering in the aftermath. They stared in a puzzled fashion, Yang and Blake equally as bewildered with all eyes on them. The blonde didn't notice her partner slick behind her, nudging her forward.
"What are you doing?" Yang hissed.
"Talk to them. It hit me too. This is the first time they saw two humans fighting over Faunus rights. I don't know what you said to Roman, but clearly you caught their attention. Just like I was when I was in their position, they're scared, and without Roman to mislead them, maybe you can straighten them out," Blake explained, giving Yang another push in the spotlight as she stood in front of what was left of the rally.
She felt a lump in her throat and her mouth dry with the sudden public attention. Yang is the outgoing one, never afraid to make a stranger a friend when she was alone, but idle conversation to kill time was different than inspiring a collective broken spirit of people. "He-hey everyone. Talk about blowing the roof off this joint."
Crickets wouldn't even giver her the courtesy sound off of a bad pun when no one in the audience was biting at the joke. Nervous laughs escaped her, also feeling the heat come from Blake as daggers bore in the back of her head. She figured she couldn't perform any worse, clearing her throat and starting again. "So-sorry. Too soon, I suppose. Look, everybody, we're all looking for answers, you know. Yes, even me, as a human, am searching for an answer and Roman wants you to believe that he's like me and my team. We all want to be treated with equality and respect and find where we belong in society, but... sometimes we want these rights so badly that we... believe just about anything. I can't understand your frustration, and I wont pretend to, but answering a call to arms will only lead to another Faunus war and Roman will benefit from the chaos and loss from both sides if that happens. You have no reason to trust me, but please take my advice with more than a grain of salt. To sweeten the pot, the police are on their way and we'll keep your identities a secret. Even you, antlers."
The identified Faunus didn't have a right to be mad, taking heed and mildly jogging out of the blown out warehouse. The rest followed, a murmuring cacophony could be heard. Yang didn't know what they were talking about, but her girlfriend heard it with her ears, a congratulatory kiss placed on her cheek giving her the all clear that she steered them out of Roman's pitfall.
"They're confused, but content. You did pretty well for an impromptu speech."
"Well, anything is better than them gathering their fire and pitchforks and chasing down huntsmen." Yang turned to see a chipper Faunus, the blonde offering her own kiss, the blood and dust not deterring her as she captured Blake's lips. "I'm sure Dad and the police will be here soon. I'm sure you wouldn't mind personally slamming the door on Adam and watching the ship speed away,"
Yang was led down a maze of hallways before happening upon the man who poisoned the well of their happy relationship. The loud grunts that echoed down the building was from him almost pulling his leg out of his socket, the desolate hopelessness clear as it looked as if chewing his legs off to get free was becoming a viable option. It was hard to tell with the slight melting, but the blonde figured it was a potent mixture of Blake's semblance and Weiss' dust that trapped him in his icy restraints, Yang fooled once by the Faunus' cheeky behavior and lured into a kiss. Soft lips became frozen as Blake stuck her face with a cold copy with a flick of her semblance.
The pooling blood around him was drying, the lower half of his pant leg soaking a lot of the mess. Blake took an active measure and untied her black end skirt and pressurized the wound. After a time, Adam stopped fighting the nursing gesture, either too weak or letting the last of his pride to the side as he accepted the Faunus' help. Yang stood behind him, not trusting his two free arms from grabbing at Blake and forcing a hostage negotiation.
Through the stilled air, he spoke, "Stop it. Having you doctor me like this makes me feel a prisoner of war. I've already been defeated. Don't make me feel more shame than I'm already feeling."
"Would you rather I drag you by the ear on one good leg to the police ship? Besides, I'm not just doing this for you. I don't trust you being in the hospital alone. I can easily see you tricking some naïve nurse into bringing you something sharp enough for you to diligently free yourself."
He gave a rough chuckle, Yang guessing he is as crafty as Blake assumes. "And to think you were doing it out of some long-lingering feelings for me. I forgot how calculated you were. Always avoiding the route less traveled."
Blake didn't take kindly to the comment, vice gripping his leg and giving a twist, garbled agony breaking out from Adam. "Never think that romantic feelings for you exist anymore. This is a courtesy to the friends we once were. Be thankful to the person behind you. Without her bigheartedness, I probably wouldn't have been reminded of my huntress duties and aimed that sickle at your throat."
Yang came from around his back, placing a firm hand on her shoulder, freely spreading a conceited smirk as she met eye-to-eye with Adam. Behind his hollow eyes, he wasn't sharing the same gaze. "That's not the only thing big about her."
She wished she was able to bask in that moment forever, the remark flipping her attitude and gave the most reflexive punch she's ever had to a comment, cracking the Grimm mask to pieces that splintered off and joined his blood.
"Please don't hit the unarmed man anymore," Blake scolded Yang, but the tone in her voice was pleased with her reaction.
"So long he doesn't say another rude comment, he'll be safe."
"Don't count on it. As hard at that was, I'm still conscious," Adam brave and half-witted enough to taunt the blonde more.
"Then pretend to be unconscious. I have plenty more pent up angst for you." Yang found it absurd to put this much of a front to a man who couldn't throw a punch back, but felt great to crack her knuckles in anticipation he get mouthy.
"I'm done being hit if that's alright with you." The silence took over again as Blake was finishing up her cleaning, finding that his strong aura would heal him proper in a week or two in his individual cell. "Thank you..." he muttered out, but enough for both of them to hear. "If we were to break up, I always knew there would be a better man that she'd end up with. Didn't think that it would come in the form of a woman, though."
"I wish you were as optimistic about the future of Faunus as you were about her," Yang fired back. "I wouldn't have had to endure the last semester if you wised up and saw Roman for what he's doing."
"I do know what he's doing. And it's because it will work is the reason I stayed. Today was the first step, a misstep in same aspects, but it will pay off." The threat Roman made loomed back into her mind, the blonde wondering if he really is that many steps ahead of them or his charisma was able to blind someone as intelligent as Adam. There was no use interrogating him, the couple choosing to leave it to the professionals and hand him over to the police who were arriving on the scene. Yang broke the ice around him, each taking an arm and carrying him out to the front.
A series of flashing blue-and-red lights were shimmering from the battalion of cars. Luckily, Ruby was brighter and louder than any ruckus happening around them, Yang spotting the red cloak and the heiress next to her, the leader busy overly-detailing the events to their Dad as he was going pale in the face. The heiress caught a glimpse of the other two, content to see them both alive. Before joining the others, they had a chore to finish. Blake handed Adam over to an officer who was booking a lot other White Fang personnel, the man over-hearing all the testimonials, then he slapped cuffs on him, and slammed the door after the ship rang no vacancy. The engines started and carried the ship over the buildings, Yang gratified that the last image of Adam was him slumped over in his seat, powerless, and in the next instant, gone.
Yang and Blake joined the others, catching Ruby at the tail end of her recanting of how her fight went down. "And then she was able to pin me and sweep Crescent Rose away from my hand and without my weapon, I'm not super useful, but then, as I think it's over, Weiss bolts over and pushes her off of me. We were both pretty fatigued, but it seems they were called away and our opponents vanished as soon as their ship showed up."
A man next to Taiyang was furiously scribbling down notes while the father was fanning the fear out of him with the climax of the story over. "Good thing for happy endings. Thank you, thank you so much Weiss," the patriarch reaching over and endearingly cupping the heiress' hands.
"Not a-a problem. It's what partner's do," she responded, the shake in her voice cute as Yang saw the admiration with their dad. Her father looked over to this eldest daughter, eyes growing bigger and rivaling Weiss in paleness as the last of his blood left his face, leaving him a ghost.
"We'll skip story time with you, Dad. Already had a long chat with the cop who booked the guy we caught. An added highlight is Blake was there to save my hide a couple times," the blonde reassured, having Taiyang double-take of his daughter's girlfriends. He reached over for Blake, almost dragging her and enveloping Weiss and her in a massive embrace.
"You two are family. Thank you, for looking after my girls," he proudly said, Weiss and Blake probably fond of the sentiment, but not the power behind it.
"Thank... you, Sir," Weiss struggled to breath out. Blake concurred, unable to speak her welcome.
He released them and bid his adieu, an operation this scale would need a lot of help cleaning up. He released the girls, telling them they earned a well-deserved rest. Weiss called for her personal ship, all of them wanting to go back to Patch as soon as possible. Yang was always amazed at how her connections and wealth could produce results, the girls on the front lawn within minutes. The blonde tripped over the dirt ditches the lockers left, too tired to care about the front yard disaster.
After unlocking the door, her body stumbled for the nearest comfortable object, slamming herself on the living room couch, her body sinking into the luxurious leather. Not far after, the familiar curves of her Faunus curled against her, capturing her close to make sure her body pillow wouldn't move in the night. Following the Faunus, another body hit the couch, alarming the blonde as it was also bundling itself into her. Yang peeped an eye to see her little sister regressing to an old habit she hadn't done since before Beacon. Yang was snug, placing her arms around them.
"Ruby," the tone of the heiress wanting to fight, but her body not letting her, "let's go to bed. Couches are not a comparable substitute for your memory foam."
"Just a five minute nap. I don't even have the energy to get out of my clothes."
Weiss wouldn't take that answer, yanking on Ruby's arm to try and lift her up, only for the leader to pull back and the heiress submitting to the request. "Fine, five minutes."
The heiress' rule was quickly broken after a bat of an eye, Weiss nestled into her girlfriend and the rest of Team RWBY. Yang decided to be a risk-taker and extend her reach to Weiss, bringing in all the girls under her orbit.
That warm feeling of bridging the team back together lit the fire under her for a little bit longer, the blonde finding it hard to fall asleep again fetched the remote on the other side of Blake and watch late-night infomercials. The high-energy programming she was finding amusing in the twilight of that period of awake and asleep, wondering how many imaginary problems these salesmen can create.
"Are you awake?" a gentle voice coming from her lover's side.
"Yeah, Blake. Do you need me to turn down the volume?"
"No, that's not what woke me up. I couldn't tell if I was dreaming, but it felt real and that's what matters."
"It can't be that embarrassing."
"It can," the Faunus momentarily pausing, leaving Yang in anticipation for what was to come. "I have been running from my problems my whole life, only for it to inevitably catch up to me. Today was no different, but the outcome was... because of you." The blonde gazed down to her Faunus, amber eyes gleaming in the soft, flickering light of the television, irises glowing in the dark contrast to the room. "Yes, Adam and The White Fang were snagging at my coattails for a long while, but with some careful consideration, all the things I couldn't mend by escaping were resolved. I've caught up to the present and it's radiant. For the first time in a long time, I feel free."
Touched by the Faunus' words, she leaned down, giving a deep kiss to her partner. "What are you planning to do now that you're free?"
"I don't know. What are you up to next weekend?"
"Hopefully in bed with my Faunus girlfriend, but I'll take her out for a night in the city if she's up for it."
"The bed sound more enticing this time around. Been to the city enough these past couple of weeks. Some rest and relaxation is in order."
"There will be no resting, I assure you." Yang kissed between Blake's cat ears, the appendages tickling her cheeks as they flittered in lazy content. The blonde rested her chin in the thick black mane, inhaling and searching deep for her lavender scent, dust residue and sweat coating the dark locks, but it was underlying beneath it all. She felt her Faunus' nostrils take a large whiff as well, herself most likely pleasantly disappointed with the stench. Blake found her spot again, Yang remaining the pillow for the team through the night.
Yang was not surprised at how fast Blake fell asleep, only that she fell asleep before her. She had to stifle her laughter, the awkward position having the Faunus lightly snore, the blonde only hearing her kitten purr in her mind. She lightly stroked her back through her mane, Yang so proud of Blake. "You can truly do anything when you don't run away. First Adam, then The White Fang, then revolution, maybe. I know you can do it, we can do it. You inspire me, Blake. Maybe... maybe it's time I find the answer to my past."